Ocean Coastline

In the world that we live in today, there is no excuse that the problem of rising sea levels persists and endangers much of our coastal and island habitats. The Southeastern United States’ coastline specifically faces a unique challenge regarding this issue. There are various large cities that lie on the Atlantic or Gulf Coasts that have already started to suffer the impacts that comes along with this aspect of climate change. So what causes the ocean to continue rising? Two answers that seem to stand out are polar ice melting, therefore increasing the amount of water in the oceans, and the sinking of ground sediment. The latter reason is not as well emphasized, but still remains a pressing issue that our civilization needs to come face to face with. Along with the obvious rise in the ocean waters, coastal populations also face events brought on by nature such as hurricanes and storm surges. Although hurricanes and surges occur naturally, the intensity and frequency of them have dramatically increased over the years due to global warming. The signs have been evident. Take the year 2005, for example. In the Atlantic region, there were 28 recorded hurricanes and tropical storms, one of them being the infamous Katrina (National Hurricane Center). It hit
the low-lying area of New Orleans and coastal Louisiana, causing approximately 1800 deaths, eroded over 200 square miles of land, and destroyed property and infrastructure, causing an estimated 134 billion dollars in damage (epa.gov). The Southeast region of the United States alone is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes, and average yearly losses caused by hurricanes is around 14 billion dollars, and is rising each year. New Orleans and Miami are the two cities that are feared to be the most vulnerable to sea level rise at present.
Since they both are located at sea level, they are more susceptible to face problems currently and in the near future. Each houses valuable infrastructure, such as roads, airports, rail systems, ship ports, water supplies, and oil and gas facilities. Damage to these, as well as schools, houses, and other buildings will have a severe economic impact. South Florida has already experienced ocean water flooding on main streets, challenging emergency management. It will continue to become more of a threat if the water moves more inland towards fresh water wells – the water supply will be at risk
(epa.gov). However, ocean levels rising does not solely affect the human populations that live on the coasts of the southern United States. The Encyclopedia of Global Warming states that as the waters continue to rise, beaches will be forced inland or simply drown under the sea. Estuaries which are presently brackish will become more saline and can eventually turn into the ocean as well. This would seriously harm fish populations that breed and live there during early life stages. Coastal wetlands, whose job is to filter out pollution from the land would also become saline. The mangroves, which protect the shoreline from waves and also serve as a nutrient system will also be forced to move inward, only if the areas are undeveloped (Dutch 258-259). Losing important parts of the environment like estuaries, wetlands, and mangroves negatively impacts the ecosystem as whole and will only worsen if no measures are taken to improve the situation. In conclusion, rising sea levels have and will continue to affect coastal areas around the world, specifically the Southeastern United States in areas like Miami and New Orleans. Hurricanes and flooding will destroy people’s homes and valuable infrastructure, displacing millions in the near future. Fresh water supplies will be in danger, and coastal environments that exist now may be simply a part of the ocean in the coming years.